Mornings are for Stockings
by Crystalline Green
Summary: Upholding and adding to Christmas traditions at Castle's loft.


_I see this as a companion to my story 'The Deep Fried Mars Bar', even though I really thought I was done with it, honest. However, swanning round here reading inspires me regularly. So here we go with a little addendum (it seems I can't drabble, I wish I could). _

_Merry Christmas to you all!  
__[Opens a bottle of 'Bah Humbug' Christmas beer and gets stuck in]_

_Playing with other peoples toys was always more fun…_

* * *

**Mornings are for Stockings**

With characteristic impatience and exuberance, Castle had begun the pestering to tell everyone as soon as he had got over the shock following the disclosure of Kate's secret. Pestering rapidly became full on grovelling, "Please Kate, just Alexis and mother, they'll be over the moon!" And while she was as excited as he was to let his family, _her family_, in on the news, she also strongly felt she wanted to wait, needed to be as sure as she could be, that everything was going to be ok.

Not to mention that she was a little nervous of divulging the news that she and Rick were expectant parents. She was less concerned that Martha would react badly, even though she knew that she had been Rick's council on more than one occasion when things between them had been difficult. She also felt the genuine warmth of the woman towards her and had done almost from the moment they had met, at a time when she and Castle were still years away from becoming anything more than writer and often-exasperated muse. Alexis however was a wholly different kettle of fish.

During the time Kate had known the girl, she had fluctuated wildly in reaction to everything in regards to her liaison with her father. Justifiably so in most instances, many of which would qualify as extraordinary circumstances, therefore Kate felt trepidation in approaching Alexis when it came to matters regarding her father. This being possibly the biggest thing she could ever dump on the poor girl.

"It's just too early Rick." She had argued, "I want to wait till we get to twelve weeks". Then it struck her where the 12-week mark would fall and she knew then that she would be able to end his nagging with one tiny seed of thought. A smile born on this realisation engulfed her entire face; it ached with it, such a delicious sensation.

The smile was instantly infectious, and halted all protestations. "What? Kate, what is it?"

"Castle, twelve weeks. Do you know when that will be?" She watched his eyes briefly flick up while he mentally made his calculations, his mouth moving wordlessly as he flipped pages of his cerebral calendar. She knew when he had it, the briefest of frowns, then his eyes shifted and his face began it's transformation from question to eager delight, yet still conveying desire for her confirmation with the upward flick of his eyebrows.

"You said you were almost eight weeks right?" He asked. Kate nodded with a single bob of her head, softly humming acknowledgment, wanting him to be the one to voice the thought, and catch the idea. "A little over four weeks then, which takes us almost, up to Christmas." Kate bit her lip almost imperceptibly while surrounded by her seemingly ever-present grin. "You want to tell them as a Christmas present?" he mused, already seeing the possibilities spilling out before him.

"They'll love it." He said eyes now alight. "I love it." he approached her, sliding his arms around her waist "And I love you."

* * *

Alexis arrived late on the evening of Dec 23rd thankfully sans Pi. Bees, it seemed, did not break for the holidays, not until Boxing Bay in any case and for this Kate was almost as relieved as Castle. Martha would be there for a leisurely Christmas Eve lunch, back from – who knows where and where no one dare ask - just in time to complete the decorating and of course to do her best to take over the kitchen.

Kate was particularly looking forward to the Christmas feast, now that it seemed the morning sickness had at last abated. They thought they had so far avoided tipping Martha off, even though for a while there it had been very hard to disguise as Kate had been wracked with bouts of horrible morning sickness. Luckily for them Martha usually operated on a wildly different schedule, her mornings began long after Kate had left for work. Therefore they usually only crossed paths between the point that Kate returned from work and went to bed, incidentally and fortunately this was when her nausea was least likely to rear its ugly head. Also Kate had been heading to bed considerably earlier during the early stage of her pregnancy as it took its toll on her. Lately though her appetite had returned, ten fold. Oh yeah she was going to eat, not drink and be merry.

Their plan had come together quickly and effortlessly, much as building theory did when they were really firing, totally in sync inspiring and elevating the idea with each passing phrase. The excitement built exponentially but now there was no question of not waiting. It would be simple, but effective.

After their usual extravagant evening meal, Christmas gifts would be exchanged, as was the Castle family's tradition, on Christmas Eve. They would keep everything as it always had been and as Kate had chosen to associate as her own. They had helped her reclaim the occasion after years of estrangement; had given her back the joy of the season. She hoped their announcement would cap this year's celebration and go some way to repaying them for everything they had given her.

On Christmas morning she woke early, but for once Castle had beaten her up, his own excitement insatiable, the impatience and anticipation returning. But they were so close and Castle would not deny himself now. She wrapped herself in a dressing gown, more to hide the slight bump - which had very recently become perceptible and for the time being, remained in need of concealment - than for warmth and then headed out to join him. As expected, Kate found him in the kitchen, cooking his famous pancakes. "You should have woken me," she admonished, kissing him, expressing her gratitude none the less. Lately sleep had been a joy, one that she was finding it easier to come by and was more in need of than ever before in her adult life. "Want some help?"

The work in the kitchen was completed in symbiotic perfection and soon the symphony of defusing scents had woken the other residents of the loft and drawn them down for breakfast.

Sill dressed in pyjamas, they ate, laughed and enjoyed each other's company. As ever the conversation was free flowing and as always Kate revelled in the experience, these people were truly beautiful and she felt so very grateful that she had been included within their ranks. Her heart had swollen with love since Castle had crept into her life, its capacity for living, accepting and returning the love she received now felt infinite. Kate Beckett vowed that she would forever more, do exactly that.

With the conclusion of their breakfast, stocking time soon came upon them. Kate felt nervous energy flow through her entire being, after weeks of waiting and prognosticating, their news was about to be shared. Their stockings were waiting, hung the night before and filled during preparation of breakfast by Castle and his helper Kate, with one small addition.

For a second year running there was a new stocking adorning their fireplace. Castle, Alexis and Martha had age-old stockings, which could be traced back to specific periods in Rogers/Castle family history. Martha's had been made by Castle himself when he was a boy, a school craft project. His own was made 20 years later by Alexis, though this time made in secret with his mother when she was tiny. They were all weathered, shedding their decorative sparkes, but full of the love they had been created with and were priceless for it. Castle had decorated Alexis' stocking before she was old enough to understand what it was all the fuss was about, but it is as much a fixture as Cookie Angel.

Kate's stocking had materialised last year, a surprise for her, made with haste the night she had shown up unexpected at his door. Martha and Alexis had secretly collaborated to create it once she and Castle had retired to bed. It had brought tears to her eyes on finding it that Christmas morning and hanging it last night had evoked similar emotions once again. She never knew that grief was not the only emotion you could be choked with, but also with joy and how sweet it was to experience it.

Now she and Castle added a fifth stocking. It had been carefully positioned in-between all of the others, taking up the central spot on the mantle piece. Filled with a single item it awaited discovery.

Rick was the first to rise from the table. "Stocking time?" Alexis eagerly enquired.

"It's time honoured tradition." he replied with added twinkle in his eyes.

With that there was a scramble away from the table, he and Kate deliberately hanging back, silently wiling discovery and therefore enlightenment.

Alexis and Martha arrived at their strategically placed, strategically pinned stockings. Rather than being lightly tacked, as would have been the norm, they were heavily secured with elaborate ties around the pine garland, knotted in such a way that would ensure they would have to be worked at to get them loose, during which time the tiny addition should be discovered. Alexis worked at her stocking from the right, Martha at hers from the left, Kate had placed them so each would have more difficulty operating with their preferred dominant hand. Twisting awkwardly, both Alexis and Martha were at the same time, brought face to face with the tiny inclusion.

Between their stockings was a single red baby sock. Protruding slightly from the top of which was the corner of square of glossy photo paper.

The women straightened, their work forgotten, being drawn in for a closer look. There was a brief unspoken conversation between the two; raised 'What's this?" eyebrows from Alexis and a 'Go ahead' shrug from Martha, Alexis reached for the soft knitted sock. Unlike its mates it came away easily with the gentlest of tugs and now the item lay cradled in his daughters palm.

Castle held his breath, knowing that beside him Kate was doing the exactly the same. Alexis looked up, the question clear in her eyes, first aimed at him and shortly after at Kate. He nodded, in his peripheral vision he saw Kate barely nod too. He felt her fingers wriggling seeking his hand, groping for comfort, which he gladly gave by enfolding hers within the grip of his own, holding it securely in his large, warm palm.

Alexis meanwhile was reaching in with tweezer fingers, lightly extracting the precious contents of her find. She pulled out the square of photo paper, on which was a fuzzy image of a black and white blob. Though it wasn't so blobbish any more, on this, their latest scan it now looked like baby, sitting in the comfy black beanbag which was Kate's womb, feet up and looking incredibly relaxed, much more so than either of their parents were right now.

Martha had craned round for a look at the picture in her granddaughters fingers, she instantly knew what it was she was looking at, had a fairly good idea of what it would be even before she saw it, but there was, confirmation quite literally in black and white. In the top left hand corner 'BECKETT, K' was printed boldly. Martha was in motion, peacock colours of her dressing gown whirring, on a path of interception to hug Kate "Oh darling, come here you marvellous, glowing creature!"

Kate reciprocated with an ease she never thought she could, not since loosing her own mother, but in Martha she had found maternal warmth once more, available for her to draw on for strength and comfort and in which, she could find absolute joy in sharing moments like this. There was a warm kiss to her cheek as Martha parted "Congratulations Katherine" she said before moving to Castle for his own congratulatory embrace.

But Kate felt herself cooling rapidly as she looked to the young woman in front of her, still frozen in much the same position she had been since retrieving the scan image from the stocking. She felt compelled to go to her and so she did, though was careful not to crowd into Alexis' space, not unless and hopefully until, she was invited.

Her movement seemed to shake Alexis from her inner thoughts. "You're really pregnant?" she asked her voice soft and small, but her eyes still burning into the picture.

Kate nodded "I am," she confirmed on barely a breath. She swallowed past the fear rising in her throat, needing to know one-way or the other how his daughter, god, her soon-to-be stepdaughter, was feeling about it. "'Lex," she fumbled on words in danger of being strangled with emotion "are you ok with this?"

Alexis took her time; slowly coming back to the moment having been lost in the conical image before her since the moment she saw it. Crazy blue, now slightly watery, eyes met Kate's earthy greens.

"This is, without contest, the best Christmas present I ever received." to Kate's surprise and delight, Alexis enveloped her in a hug much like the one she had just received from Martha, but this one with the added ferocity of love contained within the young woman. Kate sank into it, relief, love and happiness pouring from her core magnifying exponentially in reaction to that which she felt all around her.

And in that moment, she felt the full impact of how lucky she was and all that she now had because of her family. "Me too 'Lex, me too."

* * *

_OK confession time, I cant remember if the loft has a fireplace, I am sure someone will know and tell me if I'm wrong. In which case I shall have to subject myself to repeated viewings of Castle to brush up. How awful (*grins*)!  
__Anyhow, for my purposes there is one and that's where they put their stockings, standard._

_For all other mistakes blame the beer (and those which followed – it's Christmas, it's allowed) and the lateness this publication, I shall fix them mañana._

_If you enjoyed this, I suspect you might also enjoy "The Deep Fried Mars Bar" - set directly before the beginning of this story, so if you feel inclined, click on my profile and deep fried sugary goodness ye shall find.  
Thank you!_


End file.
